Today's Tech Families vs The Families of the Past.

[humanearth]

My Saturday Morning Cartoons As A Kid.

I remember when I was a kid. Saturday mornings were a race for a bowl of cereal and the good spot on the couch. Couldn't wait for those cartoons to start. Sunday nights was a family affair with Wonderful World of Disney. We would gather around with popcorn or ice cream to see the next greatest Disney movie that week.

Family Time

We played outside, made mud pies and got dirty. We climbed trees and made forts. As a child I spent many hours with my mom in the vegetable garden, learned to crothet, and sew. My childhood consisted of getting fresh air,getting dirty and wholesome family time.

Mud Is Always Fun

What do I see kids and families doing now? Cell phones, that have internet where ever you go. Netflix, Hulu, and whatever else is out there. Kids no longer have Saturday mornings to wait to see their favorite cartoons or shows. With a click of a few buttons, they have them where ever when ever they want. Phones and Ipads are used as babysitters and pacifiers. Kids sit in front of a device more than they play outside . God forbid a child gets down in the dirt to play, they may drop that precious device in the mud!

See.. babysitter

Oh, but the kids of today are smarter for all this new technology. I say bull crap! They don't know how to use a dictionary, a map, encyclopedia, or write in cursive. They have it all at the whim of an electronic device. It is now acceptable to sign a document or a pay check in print!

The technology of today is actually making the kids of today lazy and stupid. What is going to happen if and when all this crashes? They will be in the dark. My phone doesn't work. How am I going to find my way, there is no google maps or Internet. How do we survive? I say.. Start spending more time with your kids and teach them life skills to survive without all the electronics. You, them and the world will be a much better place.

[goodlongman]

Right on right on and they are socially inept. They can’t go outside without daddy watching to assure they are not kidnaped. They may have one friend that comes to the house to play video games but mostly all their “friends” are in the computer rooms where that have never met face to face and have no meaningful conversations. When they get older and go to work: they are offended if someone doesn’t stop and talk with them about nothing work related wasting time; they are still at home with mommy and daddy until their late 20’s and think a relationship is someone they can have sex with.

[humanearth]

Bravo, Bravo That is exactly why This topic came up.

[mylessdavies]

Yeh I completely see where you coming from like most of my childhood was around technology which wasn’t good and apparently they even slow down brains so I do think it’s affecting the childhood of children nowadays

[DollySummers]

I think a combination would be good

[humanearth]

So what do think of my wife my take? Stupid GaG won't send her a verification. So she has been playing in mine. I think she did a great job.

[humanearth]

Change in mine to on mine

[Secretgardenblood]

Good take

[NearlyNapping]

I grew up in the late 50s and 60s. Many many years later I bought the house where I grew up. So I'm living in the exact same neighborhood as when I was a kid. I've even known some of the neighbors almost my entire life.

The kids on the street now are two generations later. There are a number of kids in elementary school and middle school. The thing I've wondered is "Where are they?" I don't see them. I know there are kids but they aren't out doing anything. They are holed up inside doing "whatever". It's the same neighborhood I grew up in. I know it like the back of my hand. The kinds now can't say the same. The contrast is extreme. They are lucky to know their own back yard.

Even back then some kids were more active than others. But every single kid on the street was at least somewhat active outside - doing sports, climbing trees, riding bicycles, following the creek or catching minnows and craw fish to take home to put in jars.

But now? Nothing. I see kids doing absolutely nothing.

The kid next door is a game addict. He's being raised by his grand mother. I told her at least five years ago to take away that damn XBox. He's lost all his friends because of it. He suffers in school because of it (largely because he stays up all night playing games). He has NO INTEREST except playing games.

Something interesting I heard just recently, was that one of the more common calls the police get these days are about kids and video games. The police get called by the parents who have totally lost control of their kid. Parents don't realize how addictive games really are until it's too late. When finally they try to stop it, the kid FREAKS to the point of the police coming to deal with it. This is becoming a common occurrence.

I remember at the bank one day when I was asking about CD rates. She told me a rate, and I did some quick calculations in my head and said, Oh, that's $6 per month per thousand more than I'm getting now. She looked at me like I was an alien. "How did you do that?" I just told her I grew up before calculators and learned to do math in my head, or at least with pencil and paper.

Some of the academians are finally starting to figure out that all this technology is hurting education, not helping it. It's distracting, and it's information overload. Sure, the Internet is good to look up a quick fact. But that is no substitute for sitting at the library writing a report with a dozen books scattered around the table, really digging into the subject.

Better yet, go out into the real world and explore it. A digital picture of a mountain is not the same as a mountain. So go out and see the real thing. (Hint: A real mountain won't fit on your screen.) There is just no substitute for the real world.

[humanearth]

Id be whooping some kid butt throwing a fit. Kids now days have no respect. My jids are all in their 20's. Never would they be disrespectful. They grew up in the beginning of video game crazy. But they always were oitside playing. Oh they played their cideo games, but we did things as a family. They are teaching my grandbabies the same way.
If any of them got out if line or threw any fits they knew there would be consequences. A good whooping , extra chores or watching their siblings have fun while they watched.

[Kas19]

Why are you weirdos obsessed with hitting your children?

[zagor]

I know what you mean - I go to the neighborhood I grew up in, and no one on the streets! We used to be out at night in the summer until we got called in. In the last 20 years it has changed immensely.

[Anonymous]

Good take. But I wouldn't see the TV thing as an important things. I'd rather have my kids learn some language or work together with me outside, whether it be planting seeds, weeding, etc. I would like them to live a more natural way without filling their minds with unnecessary memories and thoughts that comes from TV shows and such.
This whole technology thing has made us become more bland in our knowledge.
However, it's at the same time a huge resource.

Uh, anyway, it's a good take as mentioned.

[Kas19]

"They don't know how to use a dictionary, a map, encyclopedia or write in cursive." Since when did being able to do these things determine intelligence?

[zagor]

I think he is talking about coping skills and learning how to make do - education and intelligence are two different things.

But you are right in that encyclopedias and dictionaries have been replaced by the online equivalents.

[Lance1965]

The families of the past were more active and closer than today generally speaking. I would have no problem going back to those days.

[Piteka5]

Don't give smartphones to kids before they are 10, it's very damaging, 2d screens affect the cognitive development that is prepared to deal with a 3d world, I had to study research papers on that topic in college

[humanearth]

Yeah, I know I still dont have a cell phone

[Iron_Man]

Excellent take way to go

[Akej18]

Thanks for sharing your take!

[ROCKS128]

This is good.😂